News

Thales Deploys Its Security Solution At Bahrain International Airport

Published

6 years ago

February 10, 2021

Thales

Thales, a French provider of integrated security and telecommunications solutions, has recently installed its system at the Bahrain International Airport. The system is part of the airport’s expansion, whose goal is to quadruple the size of the existing terminal and increase its capacity to 14 million passengers per year.

The integrated security and telecommunications system is responsible not just for security, safety, and airport operations but also for communication and infrastructure for the Bahrain International Airport terminal building, car parks, and Central Utility Complex, as stated by Thales in the official press release.

“We have ensured that Bahrain International Airport has been equipped with the latest smart and innovative solutions,” said Alain Correia, Managing Director at Thales Bahrain. “This guarantees optimum protection for passengers, staff, and facilities, and meets the demand for enhanced security at the new airport by Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications and Bahrain Airport Company.”

The French company has been operating in Bahrain for more than 30 years, and it enjoys a strong partnership with many public sector organizations, including the Ministry of Transportation & Communication. As a local technology provider, it contributes to Bahrain’s goal of becoming a knowledge-based economy based around three guiding principles: sustainability, fairness, and competitiveness, as described in the Economic Vision 2030.

“Thales’s strength in innovation and digital technologies perfectly positions the group to become a preferred partner for aerospace, transportation, and public security, the pillars of Bahrain’s smart city ambition,” added Correia.

Also Read: Bahrain Becomes Among The First To Achieve Nationwide 5G Coverage

Digital technology is playing an increasingly important role in airports around the world, and the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus has only highlighted its importance. Airports across the United Arab Emirates have adopted thermal cameras to detect symptomatic passengers, and the country’s largest airline, Emirates, has introduced touchless technology to its check-in facilities.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.